March 19, 2007 (Vol. 5, No. 4)

Composer and Librettist of The Grapes of Wrath Visit 'Conversations' Series

Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie, the composer and the librettist of The Grapes of Wrath.

Ricky Ian Gordon and Michael Korie, the composer and the librettist of the opera The Grapes of Wrath, will visit with Lehman Professor William M. Hoffman (Journalism, Communication and Theatre) for his "Conversations" series on Thursday, March 22, from 2 to 3 p.m. in Room C-14 of Carman Hall. The talk is free and open to the campus community, as well as the public.

Gordon is a New York City-based composer who has been hailed for his lyrical approach to music. Among his many credits are Only Heaven (1995), Dream True (1998), Night Flight to San Francisco (2000), and My Life with Albertine (2003). The book Home Fires: An Intimate Portrait of One Middle-Class Family in Postwar America by Donald Katz is based on Gordon's family.

Korie was nominated for Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle awards for Grey Gardens (2006), winning (with composer Scott Frankel) the ASCAP Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award. He has written the opera librettos of Harvey Milk, Hopper's Wife, and Kabbalah, among others. He co-wrote the lyrics for Lucy Simon's Zhivago, which earned him the Edward Kleban Award and Jonathan Larson Award.

Commissioned by the Minnesota Opera, Gordon and Korie worked together to create The Grapes of Wrath, based on the famous Steinbeck novel, and in February 2007, the opera premiered to acclaim in St. Paul, Minn. Productions are forthcoming at Utah Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and Pittsburgh Opera.

Produced by Lehman's Department of Journalism, Communication and Theatre, in conjunction with BronxNet and the College's Information Technology Resources Department, "Conversations" began taping in 2003, with composer Mark Adamo as the first guest. The series features discussions with theatre professionals about their experiences on Broadway and in Hollywood. Other guests have included Pulitzer Prize-winning author Edward Albee and playwright Arthur Laurents.

"Conversations" airs over Bronxnet and CUNY-TV. For more information about the series, call (718) 960-8217.

Select a Volume Volume 9 (Spring 2009) Volume 8 (Fall 2008) Volume 7 (Spring 2008) Volume 6 (Fall 2007) Volume 5 (Spring 2007) Volume 4 (Fall 2006) Volume 3 (Spring 2006) Volume 2 (Fall 2005) Volume 1 (Spring 2005)